Al-aqeel Higlights Procedures For Preserving Workers ‘rights And Encouraging Companies’ Business

In tandem with Kuwait’s decision to fight visa traders, and those involved in exploitation of poor workers, and to refer them to the prosecution office, the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) is also proceeding with supporting procedures that guarantee these workers their rights and preserve their dignity.

In this context, Minister of Affairs and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mariam Al-Aqeel stressed to officials at PAM in a meeting held last week the necessity for allowing business owners and companies to run their business without interruption while giving them the right to renew, transfer and cancel work permits, and open their files without the requirement to bring a salary certificate, Al-Qabas daily said.

Under the directives by Minister Maryam Al-Aqeel to encourage business owners of small and medium enterprises to return to regular work, a variety of measures were also defined to ensure the workers rights without loss in accordance with local and international laws.

Among the measures stipulated was “to allow labor transfer transactions to be conducted for small or medium enterprise owners with a maximum of three workers registered on the file, without the requirement for a wage transfer certificate until the end of the current year. It must be noted that these transactions will be carried out with a special record within the department with the approval of the Business Owner Service Department, and an undertaking submitted by the business owner to fulfill the rights of the workers registered with him.”

Al-Mousa also stressed,  “the necessity of adhering to the regulations set for the transfer of workers from a small or medium enterprise to another, which stipulates an employee has to work for the company for at least three years, provided, the employer allows him to leave the company prior to completion of three years of the agreement on their wish, and that the transfer shall be with the owner of another small or medium enterprise, and there is a need for assessment before the new employer can add the new employee to his file.

Since the start of the coronavirus crisis,  Crisis and Emergency Team of the Labor Protection Sector in the Workforce, extended great efforts to be able to preserve the rights of workers and follow up on complaints regarding failure to provide financial dues, monthly salaries, and final cancellation of visas.

Three thousand complaints regarding companies’ failure to pay salaries was received, and the team dealt with more than 2,300 of them. They were settled while some of the issues were transferred to the judiciary. The specialized teams delivered salaries for workers working in 1,980 companies, in addition to starting the exit procedures for 800 workers, who requested to leave the country after the sponsors refused to cancel their residency visas, and their transactions were facilitated in coordination with the Ministry of Interior.

Pledge and affirmation
As part of the slew of measures, a condition of signing a set of pledges guaranteeing the rights to the workers registered on their files. The first pledge, to which the companies were obligated, stated that there were no labor complaints or misinformation, in addition to the pledge to provide a legal survey for information gathering when requested by the authority. In the event that the information provided was found with violations or proved incorrect, the necessary legal measures would be taken against the company. As for the second undertaking, companies must submit a wage statement for the month of March and the following months upon whenever the Authority requests that, and in the event that the declaration is violated and the data is not proven correct, the necessary legal measures will be taken. These declarations and pledges are considered a step to guarantee the rights of workers, with the exception of demanding companies furnish the salary certificate. This allows companies to continue work without interruption towards restoring economic conditions as they were on the recommendation of Minister Mariam Al-Aqeel.

 

SOURCE : TIMES KUWAIT

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